In A While
by Grav
Summary: A toothy MO puts the team at a disadvantage as they try to solve a case where the human and crocodilian world mix with deadly consequences. Slight (and I mean VERY slight) N/S.
1. Default Chapter

A.N. I am trying my hand at a longer story. I really hope it works. This is dedicated to my sister because the case was her idea. It sounds a bit ludicrous at first, but I took it because it does not involve anyone getting kidnapped, raped, stalked, attacked, etc. Well, anyone on the team of course. And hey, some really odd things have happened on this show (nosebleed anyone?). I am taking for granted that somewhere in the city of Las Vegas, there is a zoo.  
  
Disclaimer: CBS owns them. . . I don't. If, somewhere is this mess I end up with an original character, then she's all mine.  
  
Spoilers: I think if you are up to date with the show, you'll be okay. I am not dealing with anything of their current/past cases.  
  
Archive: I still don't know what that means.  
  
Rating: We'll go with PG-13  
  
Summary: An weird MO throws the team for a loop.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
There was something disturbing about working the night shift. And yet, oddly relaxing. Sam got to see the inhabitants of this end of Las Vegas in their natural state. Well, as natural as anything in Las Vegas ever gets anyway. There were never tourists at this hour. No frazzled parents, not screaming children, and certainly no school groups. Maybe the night shift wasn't as bad as he thought.  
  
Flashlight in hand, Sam continued his rounds. It was the noises that got him the most. The unexpected grunts, moans, and what sounded like maniacal laughter always made the hair on the back of his neck rise. He knew it was only natural, but still they weren't noises one expected in Las Vegas.  
  
His last stop was his very favourite. Sam always brought his favourites a treat, even though technically it was none of his business to do so. Tonight it was a chicken. They preferred them live of course, but they always ate the ones that Sam brought for them. Walking up to the railing, Sam set the flashlight down on top of the coldbox that contained their evening snack. As he leaned over to watch them in the darkness, his sense of smell was assaulted by the smell of blood.  
  
Sam swallowed the urge to retch and reached for his flashlight. He turned it on, and shone a beam of light into the enclosure. The sight he saw made him throw up.  
  
The water of the exhibit was murky, but not with the brownish sludge typical of swamp exhibits. Sam stared at the swirling dark waters, and decided he really didn't want to know what it was. He swung hid flashlight away from the water, and went searching for the enclosures inhabitants.  
  
He found her in the corner. Her eyes were open, but she was quite still. She appeared to be unharmed, but Sam wasn't sure he could tell from this distance. He found his way over to the switchboard, and flipped on the exhibit's main lights.  
  
Eyes wide, he reached for his cell phone. There was a problem here that was beyond his abilities to solve. The female crocodile was in the corner of the blood soaked exhibit, but the male was gone.  
  
And there was a hole in the back wall.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Well, what do we think? Next chapters are in the works, and I won't make you review for them, but a little feedback would be nice. 


	2. Crimescene

A.N. Curse my muse. I have an essay to write. And yet, here I am. Anyway, here we go again.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Sara Sidle made a face. Standing beside her, her supervisor had already gone into crime scene mode, where everything was intensely interesting and held no outward emotional value. Sara shook her head, as Brass made his way over to brief them.  
  
"Isn't this a little out of our jurisdiction?" Sara asked acidly.  
  
As Brass was about to reply, Nick Stokes jumped in ahead of him. "Oh, c'mon Sara, look at all the blood. It's as crime scene as they come."  
  
"That being said, here are your details." Brass finally interjected in his characteristic wry tone. "Night watchman was finishing his rounds when he found the scene. Keepers report that they fed the crocs this morning before opening and cleaned up as per standard procedure. I guess they don't want the public to see what happens during feeding time."  
  
Sara turned a little pale. Beside her, Grissom spoke for the first time. "Well, that croc didn't make the hole in the wall by himself. Nick, go talk to the watchman and then process the hole. Sara, I want you to take as many blood samples as you can. I want to know for sure that all of this belongs to the croc."  
  
Sara stared at him, her disgust and disbelief evident in her face. She opened her mouth to say something that Nick was pretty sure was going to be insulting, so he stepped between her and Grissom and led her off. Grissom, gone back to studying the scene and talking with Brass was oblivious to the whole exchange.  
  
"I can't believe it." Sara fumed, "Does he live on the moon?"  
  
"You'll be fine Sara. Do you want a surgical mask."  
  
The look she shot him had daggers in it, and he held up his hands in apology. She pursed her lips, and set her expression, then headed for the ladder into the enclosure.  
  
Nick got no further information from the watchman. The man had written down a meticulous statement for Brass and when Nick had read the report, he realized that it told him all he needed.  
  
The exhibit was built into a hill. At the top, where a concrete wall and railing separated the visitors from the crocodiles, there was an artificial swamp. At the bottom, where the pond was, the crocs could be viewed from a partially buried observation deck that was behind a glass wall. The glass extended five metres on either side of the pond, and it was through that section that the croc had left.  
  
Nick shone his flashlight along the broken glass. According to the Keeper, the glass was bullet proof, but Nick knew that just about anything could be broken if someone wanted it badly enough. Stopping for a closer look, and reaching for his tweezers and a sample bag, Nick carefully picked up several white fibres off a piece of glass. He swabbed around the glass hoping for some epithelials, and bagged that as well.  
  
"Hey Gris" he shouted, suddenly realizing something  
  
"What" Grissom looked up from his chat with the Keeper.  
  
"There's no glass." He had Grissom's full attention now, "the wall is broken, the croc is gone, and there is no glass."  
  
"At least that means no one gets window duty." Brass commented  
  
Grissom grunted. "How are you coming Sara?"  
  
"I have some two dozen swabs, taken from regular intervals around the enclosure. I kept a record if you want to know the exact location." Grissom missed the bitterness in her voice.  
  
"Right then, we'll head back to the lab and give Greg something to do."  
  
Sara rolled her eyes, and Nick shook his head encouragingly at her. They climbed out of the enclosure, said their good-byes to Brass, and climbed back in the Tahoe for the drive back to the lab.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
A.N. I think I have an obsessive compulsion. Besides the obvious anyway. I just can't pass up the opportunity to mention the Tahoe at every available opportunity. I am sure there's an explanation.  
  
More soon. (damn muse) 


	3. Video Surveillance

A.N. I don't think I have one this time actually. Oh, yes I do. Thanks to Leanne for editing (sort of) even after she kept saying she couldn't. And telling me I need more action. . . I am getting there.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
The lab was quiet. Which was odd enough of itself. Catherine and Warrick had been gone when the first team got back, and Greg had told them that they had been called out about half an hour after Grissom's team had left. That was the last time Nick had seen Greg, as Grissom had immediately inundated the young lab tech with the samples Nick and Sara had collected at the scene, and he'd been in the lab ever since.  
  
Brass came down the hall to Grissom's office and handed him a video tape. Grissom waved Nick into the office as well.  
  
"This is the security tape from the exhibit. I'd like you to take it to Archie and have him analyze it." Grissom handed the tape over, "Have you seen Sara recently?"  
  
"Yeah" Nick replied, "she's in the break room lying down. I don't think she's feeling well."  
  
"Is she coming down with the flu?" Grissom asked, all business.  
  
Nick looked at his supervisor in amazement. Did the man not notice anything? "No Gris. Sara is a vegetarian because after you wrapped a pig in a blanket and watched it decompose she couldn't bear the sight of meat."  
  
Grissom looked confused and started to say something, but Nick cut him off, "And then, tonight, when there were several other things you could've asked her to do, you made her take multiple blood samples from one of the bloodiest crime scenes we've had in a while."  
  
"Oh." Grissom still looked terribly confused, and was even more so after Nick's uncharacteristic outburst. "Just, take the tape to Archie Nick."  
  
Nick exhaled loudly, turned on his heel and headed for the A/V lab. Grissom sat down in his chair and removed his glasses. His hand went to the bridge of his nose as they always did when he had a migraine coming on. It was going to be a long night.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
"Archie, what've you got for me?"  
  
The A/V tech jumped, and the frame he was working on jumped ahead several seconds. Nick fought to keep from laughing.  
  
"It's not funny Stokes." Archie complained, "you're lucky I am so good at this."  
  
"Sorry." Nick replied, sitting down to watch what Archie was doing.  
  
"Well, there are two cameras on this exhibit." Archie began his report "The first is aimed at the railing, and takes a picture every five seconds. The only person who appears on that camera is Sam, the watchman, and his actions are exactly the same as his statement. The second camera is actually within the enclosure. I think it is some sort of electronic babysitter. The lens is mounted above the pond, and it sweeps around the enclosure taking five seconds per sweep."  
  
"Does anything show up on it?" Nick interjected.  
  
"Yes indeed" Archie replied manipulating the video to a certain time frame. "The watchman shows up on camera one at 12:00 right on the nose. At 10:00, on camera two, we get a very interesting show."  
  
Nick squinted at the screen. "Is that what I think it is?"  
  
"Well that depends" Archie replied, smirking slightly "If you think that it is a hand covering the camera, then yes, it is."  
  
"Can you get close enough to get prints?"  
  
Archie shot him a withering glance. "Of course, but only palm prints, we never see the fingers."  
  
"It's better than nothing." Nick said. He paused, and tilted his head to the side, "Archie, are both cameras at the top of the wall?"  
  
"Yes"  
  
"That wall is nine feet high."  
  
"And. . ." said Archie, waiting for the other shoe.  
  
"It is in the middle of the pond."  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
A.N. I am getting to action. I promise. Catherine and Warrick get to start their case next chapter. 


	4. Lost and Found

A.N. OK, chapter four and the plot thickens. It had to at some point I guess, or it would have been as runny as the rice my mother made the last time we had apricot chicken. Don't ask.  
  
Disclaimer: CBS still owns them, but I introduced an original character this chapter. I like the name, but I had other reasons for choosing it ;) You know who you are.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
O'Reilly was waiting for them on the shores of Lake Mead when Catherine and Warrick got out of the Tahoe. The Sergeant's face had the "now I've seen it all" look on it that usually signified that the CSI team had a lot of overtime coming up. Warrick raised his eyebrows, but made no comment.  
  
"Well, what've we got" Catherine asked once within speaking range.  
  
"Fishermen out spotlighting. Found a surprise. Coroner's here." O'Reilly told them brusquely.  
  
Three people wearing Animal Recovery jackets walked past the CSI's as they followed the detective to the water's edge  
  
"Why are they here?" Warrick asked. He whistled through his teeth when he saw what was floating in the shallows. "Never mind, why are we here?"  
  
David waved at them from a few feet out, and began to walk back to them, stumbling slightly in his hip-waders.  
  
"What have you got David?" Catherine asked.  
  
"Well, they are both dead." The coroner replied.  
  
"Both?" Warrick said.  
  
"Yeah." David made a face, "there's a body in this croc."  
  
Catherine rolled her eyes. It was going to be a long night.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
"Catherine Willows?" A voice broke into her concentration as Catherine examined the tread marks at the edge of the lake. Catherine turned around to see a young woman standing behind her.  
  
"Yes?" she said.  
  
"My name is Heidi Newton. I am supposed to help your coroner with the autopsies."  
  
"The bodies have already gone back to the lab." Catherine explained. Heidi pursed her lips. "I can give you directions."  
  
"I know where it is." Heidi replied. "but I was dropped off here, they said I could go back with the bodies."  
  
"Well, my partner and I are almost done here, so we can give you a lift."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Warrick came up to them, looking less than thrilled with his finds along the shore.  
  
"Get anything?" asked Catherine. Warrick shook his head, and redirected his attention to Heidi. "Warrick, meet Heidi Newton. She is going to help Robbins with the autopsies."  
  
Warrick removed his gloves so that he could shake Heidi's outstretched hand. "Are we done?" he asked.  
  
"Yes." Catherine replied. "All I found was the tire treads."  
  
"That's more than I got." Warrick said.  
  
Catherine flashed him a smile. "The dive team might find something tomorrow. Let's get back to the lab."  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
A.N. I apologize for the formatting errors. Hopefully they have been fixed and chapter one now appears in the right place. My computer is having issues. 


	5. Regroup

A.N. I really dislike Wednesdays, and this one has been particularly bad. I had a midterm and an essay due, and half way through my mind-bogglingly boring Hebrew lecture, I realized that I had mixed up chapter three. So here I am consoling myself with a half a litre of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream because my classes are scheduled over the dinner hour, and I am both starving and in need of a pick up.  
  
Anyway, this chapter goes out to my sister because she actually knows what she's talking about, and has run a few of these tests herself. And to my roommate, because she named the croc.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Greg Sanders worked away in the lab oblivious to the fact that he was under observation. Carefully, he removed a small section of the swab Sara had collected, and ran it through the ABA card. Humming to himself, he catalogued the result and reached for the last sample.  
  
"Never Smile at a Crocodile?" Greg turned around to see Sara standing in the doorway. He grinned, ran the last swab, and handed her his report.  
  
"Well that's fun." Sara quipped.  
  
"What's fun?" Grissom asked from the doorway. Sara and Greg exchanged a glance, and Greg jumped in to offer his findings.  
  
"There were 24 samples. Twenty-three of them came back croc. The last one was human."  
  
Grissom's eyebrow went up. He was about to speak when Catherine, Warrick, and someone he didn't recognize came into the lab.  
  
"Grissom, you would not believe what Dr. Robbins has to operate on." Catherine said by way of hello.  
  
"Would it happen to be six feet long, toothy and answer to the name of Al."  
  
Catherine's jaw dropped, and Warrick began to laugh.  
  
"They named it Al?" Sara said incredulously.  
  
"It is some sort of a joke." Gris replied. "The keeper told me."  
  
Catherine remembered her manners, and pulled Heidi into the conversation. "Grissom, this is Heidi. She's the biologist who'll be helping Dr. Robbins. Heidi, this is Grissom, Sara and Greg. Greg can you show her to the morgue please, I think the rest of us need to have a discussion about this case."  
  
Greg nods, and debonairly offers Heidi his arm. The CSIs head for the layout room.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Dr. Robbins and Heidi, both in full autopsy garb, begin their work. The croc is lying on his back, taking up two gurneys, with the third waiting by for the human body.  
  
"Well this is something I don't get to do very often." Dr. Robbins said, reaching out to press the record button on his tape recorder.  
  
Heidi nodded in agreement. "This is a little odd."  
  
"Where do we start?"  
  
"Well, David found a hand in the croc's mouth, so lets make an incision in the throat and then work our way to the stomach."  
  
Dr. Robbins handed Heidi the knife, and she grinned at him. "All right then, here we go."  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Heidi walked into the break room to find the CSI team gathered there.  
  
"Am I interrupting anything?" she asked.  
  
"No" replied Grissom, "tell us what you found."  
  
"We found a human hand in the back of the crocodile's throat, as David said. We checked the croc's entire digestive system, and sent the contents to the lab for processing, but only the hand was undigested, everything else had been in there for a while. Cause of death was exsanguination. The croc's throat was slit in the exhibit, and it was dead before he was dumped. Markings on the tail indicate that it was dragged somewhere. The hand is in DNA."  
  
Just as she finished, Greg entered the room.  
  
"I processed the hand. DNA is an unknown male, but the palm print is the exact opposite of the one on the security video."  
  
"OK. So we have a killer and a DB out there somewhere." Nick summarized.  
  
"And the DB is missing a hand." Added Warrick.  
  
"Nick, Warrick go back to the zoo and go through the pond water." The two nodded and Grissom continued to hand out assignments. "Sara, try and find a match for the tire treads. Catherine and I will go back to Lake Mead and see what the dive team is finding."  
  
They all filed out. Heidi turned to Greg.  
  
"And what are we supposed to do?" She asked.  
  
"Well, I've still got some fibre samples and some epithelials to run, but if you're bored you can process the stomach contents." Was the answer.  
  
"Great. I've been meaning to find a reason to stop eating." Greg grinned at her sarcasm.  
  
"Don't worry, there's a restaurant I can take you to where the food is so awesome, you'd eat it regardless of what you'd just finished dissecting."  
  
Laughing, they made their way to the lab.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
A.N. "Never Smile at a Crocodile" is a folk song as far as I know, so I have no idea who should get the credit for it. I am pretty sure that I have a tape of Raffi singing it somewhere, and it also appears in the Disney Peter Pan. 


	6. Pieces

A.N. Ah weekends. What would I do without them. Now, where was I? Ah, yes. . .  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Nick looked into the pond with a speculative expression on his face.  
  
"Paper, Scissors, Rock?" Warrick asked him lightly.  
  
"No way. Not this time." Nick replied, "We'll drain it and see if we find anything that way. Unless you want to go swimming of course."  
  
Warrick laughed and shook his head. The two men walked to the edge of the pond and talked with the techs who were just getting ready to drain the pond. The vacuum began sucking up the water, and filtering out any solid items it found. The water level grew lower and lower, and Nick suddenly saw something.  
  
"What is that?" he asked.  
  
"I think we'd better get David down here." Warrick said, taking out his cell phone. "It looks like we found our body."  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Sara rubbed her eyes and reached for her coffee cup, only to remember that she had just emptied it. Sighing, she put it back down and went back to the computer screen.  
  
"Still no match?" said a voice from behind her. She turned, and there was Nick, leaning against the door post.  
  
"No." she replied, "the tread is rubbed almost raw, so I don't have much to go on. What did you find at the zoo?"  
  
"A body." Was the laconic answer.  
  
"Figures." She said bitterly "You and Warrick get a body, and I get the tire treads."  
  
"If it makes you feel any better, Warrick got to stay and work on the scene some more, and I had to come back to run some tests."  
  
"It doesn't." she said, turning back to her computer.  
  
"Well, I brought you some coffee."  
  
"That, Mr. Stokes, makes me feel much better." She said and shot him a gap- toothed smile.  
  
He grinned back and pulled up a chair to sit beside her. He handed her the coffee and she nodded her thanks. The two of them stared at the screen in companiable silence, waiting for the program to find them a match.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Greg removed the sample bottle from the centrifuge, and picked up the computer print out. He cocked his head to one side as he read he results.  
  
"Well?" asked Heidi.  
  
"The epithelials are crocodilian." He replied. "and the white fibres that Nock found are some sort of heavy duty cloth, made of Dacron."  
  
"Well, we think Al might have been dragged from the scene, maybe he was in the cloth." Heidi postulated.  
  
"I still think Al is a ridiculous name for a crocodile." Greg said. "What turned up in the stomach contents?"  
  
"Chicken." She answered. "Which is what we were expecting because that is what the crocs get fed. There was also some glass in his stomach, and it has the same density as the section of the window Nick took from the exhibit."  
  
"So all we need now is the rest of the window and a big white sheet?" Greg said.  
  
"I don't think we're looking for a sheet. I think we're looking for something heavier."  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Catherine and Grissom stood on the shores of Lake Mead waiting for the dive team to get back. One of the SCUBA divers surfaced, and made her way back to them. Her partner followed, pulling something along behind him. The two of them exited the water and pulled up their goggles.  
  
"Here you go." Said the woman, "sorry, but there's nothing else down there."  
  
"At this stage we'll take what we can get." Catherine said, snapping on her gloves.  
  
Grissom looked at the large white bundle the divers had retrieved from the bottom of the lake. "Lets take it to the lab and open it there." He suggested.  
  
Catherine nodded, thanked the dive team, and the two investigators headed back to the Tahoe.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Warrick came into the break room to find Sara and Nick sitting on the couch, talking with Heidi and Greg who were sitting at the table. Warrick pulled up a chair beside Greg, and helped himself to the popcorn that was on the table.  
  
"Ugh" he said, "it's cold."  
  
"Well of course," said Sara with a smile, "I made it hours ago."  
  
"You find a match?" he asked. The look she shot him had daggers in it, and he took the warning. "I had a miserable time at the crime scene. Very boring."  
  
"Nice try." Said Greg, beginning to laugh.  
  
Warrick's cell phone rang. "Warrick. . .yeah. . .okay, are you sure. . . did David tell you about the body?.. . .right, see you at 8:00 then."  
  
Nick looked at him quizzically.  
  
"That was Gris." Warrick said, refusing to rise to the bait, "he said that he and Catherine have found a bundle at the lake, and they are bringing it in to analyze it. We're supposed to go home, rest, and come in for work on time so we can be sharp and solve the case."  
  
"Did he actually say that?" Heidi asked  
  
"Yes, yes he did." Warrick replied.  
  
"I'm not really that tired." Sara said. Nick groaned. "I didn't mean that I want to stay silly, I just don't want to go home and do nothing."  
  
She turned to look and Warrick and Greg, figuring that between the two of them, they probably knew of somewhere that was fun at 8:00 in the morning.  
  
Warrick thought about it for a while and then said "There's a club I know of that's twenty four hours. They have a dance floor and they serve food."  
  
"Do they have breakfast?" Nick asked.  
  
"You call this meal breakfast?" Greg asked.  
  
"Whatever, lets just go." Sara said impatiently.  
  
"Fine." Said Nick.  
  
"I'll drive" said Warrick, "we can take the Tahoe."  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
A.N. I have no idea what sail cloth is made of. I asked a bunch of people, and the two answers I got were Dacron and nylon. I like the sound of Dacron, so there you have it. It probably has a patent somewhere, and I obviously don't hold it, or I would be off sailing somewhere myself. 


	7. A Little Less Conversation

A.N. I have had this chapter written for ever. Actually, now that I think about it, I am pretty sure I wrote it in Hebrew. I should probably start paying more attention. My social life will probably be reflected in my attempted portrayal of a club in this chapter. Forgive my ignorance.  
  
Thanks to the reviewers. And since I can't keep everyone happy, their will be one, small, quasi-relationship. Anyway, I have been waiting for this for a while, so here we go.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
"I can't believe we are driving to this club Warrick." Said Sara from the cramped confines of the back of the Tahoe, "it must be all of what, two blocks away."  
  
Warrick laughed and caught Nick's grin in the rear view mirror. "It's a matter of principle Sara."  
  
Sara rolled her eyes. "Fine, next time, I drive and you can sit in the middle of the backseat."  
  
The Tahoe pulled into a parking lot. Warrick found a spot and parked. The group exited the car, and made their way over to the door.  
  
The club proved to have a simple layout; dance floor in the middle, surrounded by several tiers of tables. The waitress that seated them called Warrick by name, and took them to a table on the level closest to the dance floor. She left them with their menus, and returned in a few minutes with a jug of water, ready to take their order.  
  
After everyone had ordered, they chatted amiably around the table, until the music changed. Greg, who happened to have been looking at Nick at the time, noticed a look of resolve in his friend's face, and was about to say something when he felt Warrick kick him under the table. Instead, he grinned. Heidi shot him a questioning look, and he mouthed "later" at her.  
  
Nick swallowed. "Sara, would you like to dance."  
  
She smiled, "Sure Nick."  
  
He took her hand and the two of them moved off into the center of the dance floor.  
  
"I can't believe this." Said Greg. "It is 8:30 in the morning, and the dance floor is still crowded."  
  
"Hey, I warned you that it was 24 hours. Besides, I think they deserve a little privacy." Warrick shot back.  
  
"If you were desperate, you could always go up a higher tier." Heidi said, a teasing note in her voice.  
  
"No," said Greg, just a hint of a grin on his face "I think I like the view here."  
  
***A little less conversation, a little more action, All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me. A little more bite, a little less bark, A little less fight and a little more spark Close your mouth and open up your heart, and baby satisfy me Satisfy me baby***  
  
"Ah, Elvis" Warrick drawled.  
  
Heidi laughed at the implication, and Greg craned his neck to see the dance floor.  
  
"It's no good Greggo." Warrick told him. "I can't see them, and I am taller than you."  
  
***Baby close your eyes and listen to the music Drifting through the summer breeze. It's a groovy night and I can show you how to use it Come along with me, and put your mind at ease.***  
  
There was a shift of bodies on the dance floor, and for a few lines of the song, the trio at the table could see the dancers quite clearly.  
  
"Now that's what I'd call dancing." Heidi quipped, winking at Greg, who blushed.  
  
***Come on baby I'm tired of talking Grab your coat and lets start walking. Come on, come on Come on, come on Come on, come on Don't procrastinate, don't articulate Girl it's getting late, getting upset waiting around.***  
  
"Do you think they will?" Greg asked, trying to keep his amusement out of his voice and failing spectacularly.  
  
Warrick rolled his eyes and was about to answer when the waitress showed up with their food. There was another flurry of activity on the dance floor, and when Greg stood up to wave Sara and Nick over to the table, he couldn't see them anymore. Warrick stood up beside him and scanned the dance floor. When he sat down again, he was grinning.  
  
"Well," he said, reaching for the ketchup, and snagging Nick's abandoned bacon, "I guess that answers your question."  
  
***A little less conversation, a little more action please All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me. A little more bite, little less bark A little less fight and a little more spark Shut your mouth and open up your heart, and baby satisfy me Satisfy me baby***  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Sara was laughing so hard she was surprised she was still capable of walking. One minute, she'd been happily, albeit very happily, dancing with Nick, and then he had whispered in her ear they should leave, and she had agreed. So they had waited until the crowd had placed itself between them and the three hawks at the table, and then made a run for it. She had told him that he was lucky she was still carrying her purse, and he replied that his keys were in his locker.  
  
And so here she was, sitting in Nick's living room, while he made coffee to go along with their take out breakfast.  
  
"You think Warrick'll mind us leaving like that?" she called through to him.  
  
Nick entered the living room, balancing two cups of coffee and two TV tables. "He'll understand. Would you like to watch a movie?"  
  
"Sure. Pick one."  
  
Nick set down the coffee and the tables, and selected a movie at random, while Sara set up their breakfast. Nick came to sit on the couch, a fraction closer to her than she was expecting. He turned on the television, and began the movie.  
  
"What are we watching?" Sara asked.  
  
"Princess Bride. Have you ever seen it?"  
  
"No." she replied.  
  
"Oh my goodness, Sara you haven't lived. This is the best movie ever." Nick said, with his mouth full.  
  
"Really. Well, I'll reserve judgement until after it is over." Sara said.  
  
'Don't judge Sara, just watch and enjoy."  
  
"Oh don't worry Nick, I will."  
  
She shifter slightly on the couch, and gravity being the way it is, ended up even closer to Nick. Yes, she had every intention of enjoying this.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
A.N. "A Little Less Conversation" belongs to Elvis, or whatever that other group's name is, and I don't own the Princess Bride either. Although, I do maintain that it is the best movie of all time. 


	8. Puzzles

A.N. And now back to our regularly scheduled program. OK, I added a "nameless" lab tech character because I needed one.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Grissom was early. That was normal. What was abnormal was that he was only five minutes early, and he was the last member of the night shift to arrive in the break room. He could hear them laughing all the way down the hall, something about a club, the back seat of a Tahoe, and a movie. He was sure it all made a great deal more sense in context. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know exactly what that context was.  
  
As soon as he entered the break room, all eyes turned to him. He nodded hello to everyone, and headed for the coffee machine. The smell wafting up from the pot was an indication that someone had twisted Greg's arm into sharing again. He poured himself a cup, and went over to sit with his team. Their banter continued, until finally Grissom looked and the clock, and stepped into his role as official wet blanket.  
  
"OK, people, here are your assignments." Grissom began. "Greg, I want you to run DNA analysis on the hand and see if it matches our body. And see if you can't dig up what happened to that print Archie got off of the camera. Sara and Nick, I want you to find out who sells Dacron in Las Vegas, and go visit them. Brass has a list for you. Warrick, Catherine, I need you to find out who that tire belongs to. I'll be in autopsy."  
  
He looked around the room and saw nodding heads. Then they broke off, and went to work.  
  
Grissom headed off down the hall towards the morgue, where Dr. Robbins was waiting for him.  
  
"Mr. Grissom." He heard a voice from behind him and turned around. "I finished that analysis of the bundle you recovered at Lake Mead. It was Dacron, the glass inside it was from the window and the blood was from the crocodile."  
  
"Thanks Leanne." Grissom said, taking the report she held out to him. He continued on down the hall, and into the morgue.  
  
"Well doc, what do we have tonight?" Grissom asked by way of hello.  
  
"Victim is male, Caucasian, and missing both hands." Robbins began. "He has also been flayed."  
  
"Someone peeled off his skin?" Grissom replied incredulously.  
  
"Yes, and the knife wasn't too sharp either." Al replied.  
  
"What killed him?" Grissom asked.  
  
"Bullet to the head, execution style. Whoever did this was right on top of him."  
  
"Can you get the bullet out?"  
  
"Already did, and sent it to ballistics."  
  
"Right. Thanks doc." Grissom headed out the door for ballistics.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Greg was in the lab waiting for the DNA results to print. He heard the door open and close quietly, and turned around to see Mandy standing behind him looking nervous.  
  
"What's up?" He asked.  
  
"It took me all day to find the time to run Grissom's prints." Mandy said "I have the results, but I don't want to give them to him. I just want to go home."  
  
Greg smiled understandingly and held out his hand for the report.  
  
"Thanks Greg, I owe you one." Mandy said. She walked to the door of the lab, looked both ways, and then exited towards the locker room.  
  
Still smiling, Greg turned to the printer, which had begun to hum in its warm-up sequence. He waited a few more seconds, and then pulled the piece off of the tray.  
  
He was just giving them a cursory look when his cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID, and discovered that it was Heidi. Back to the door, he sat down and pressed the receive button.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Sara slammed the door of the Tahoe closed with a force that bespoke her feelings. Getting in the driver's side, Nick winced on behalf of the door, but decided it was better it than him. Four stores visited, and none of them had been any use at all.  
  
"How does it end?" Sara asked.  
  
"I beg your pardon?" Nick answered, bewildered.  
  
"The movie." Sara elaborated. "How does it end?"  
  
"I am not going to tell you that Sara." He replied laughing. "It isn't my fault you fell asleep on my chesterfield in the middle."  
  
"Well, then I'll just have to come over and watch the end some other day." Sara said. "We want this street."  
  
Nick turned and spotted the store that was their destination. He found a spot to park and the two of them headed in.  
  
"Why is this place still open? It is 10:00 at night!" Nick said "Get a load of those stickers."  
  
"That's Vegas for you I guess." Sara answered his question and then countered. "What, you have a problem with animal rights activists?"  
  
"Well, no, I was just making a comment."  
  
"I belong to some of those organizations. Or, I get their mail-outs anyway."  
  
Nick raised his eyes in an 'oh really' sort of a gesture and held the door open for her. The store they entered was different from all the others they had visited thus far. The others had all been outdoor/adventure clothing and equipment stores. This one looked more like an art supply store. Sara double checked to make sure that the address was right, answering Nick's unspoken question.  
  
A salesman bearing a name tag reading Jaden made his way over to them. "Can I help you?"  
  
"Yes." Said Nick "I am Nick Stokes, this is Sara Sidle. We're with the Las Vegas Crimelab, and we are looking for some Dacron."  
  
"We don't have any." Jaden replied, his face losing its salesman smile.  
  
"Have you sold out recently?" Sara asked.  
  
"No. We don't carry it." Jaden sounded rather exasperated. "Are you two planning to purchase anything, because if you aren't, I'd like you to leave."  
  
"OK, take it easy, we're going." Nick took Sara's arm and walked with her out the door. Once outside he shot her a glance and asked "Do you buy it?"  
  
"No." her answer was quick "He is definitely selling us short."  
  
* * * * * * * "Who sat down and did this?" Catherine asked incredulously as she watched the computer screen analyze the tire tread, and match it up to trucks in the Las Vegas area.  
  
Warrick laughed, "It was probably someone's grad school project. But it really doesn't matter where it came from, so long as it tells us what kind of truck we are looking for."  
  
Catherine studied the screen as it stopped scanning and flashed 'match' at them. "So we're looking for a Chevrolet Silverado. How many of those are in Vegas?"  
  
"I'll get Brass to look into it for us." Warrick said "There could be quite a few though, it's a popular model."  
  
"That may be," Catherine replied, "but there can only be so many with a bald tire."  
  
Warrick nodded, and went off in search of Brass.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Grissom sent out a page for everyone to come to the layout room as soon as they could. It took about fifteen minutes for everyone to assemble.  
  
He began "Greg, what did you find."  
  
"Well," the lab tech started "The DNA in the hand is the same from the body, and Mandy finished analyzing the print. AFIS tells us it is from Andrew Sagget, ex-con, small time thief."  
  
Noting that Greg was finished, Sara jumped in. "We found a store that sells Dacron, but not for sails. They use it for signs instead."  
  
"Except the owner kicked us out." Nick interjected, "And the place is absolutely covered with 'Save the Whales' stickers."  
  
Sara glared at him. Grissom saw, but let it pass. "Catherine?"  
  
"Tread belongs to a Chevy Silverado. Brass got us a list of who owns one in Las Vegas, but it is going to take us a while to sort it all out."  
  
"Wait a minute." Warrick said "What did you say the DB's name was?"  
  
"Andrew Sagget" Greg replied.  
  
"And he was shot to death execution style." Grissom added.  
  
"Well, one of the names on the list is Jaden Sagget." Warrick said.  
  
"Hey, and Jaden was the name of the guy that kicked Nick and me out of the store!" Sara exclaimed. "Gris, you have anything to add?"  
  
"The bullet is .45 calibre. It is a little messy, but Bobby says if you find him the gun he can do a comparison." Grissom said. "Nick, come with me. We'll get Brass and go talk to Jaden. The rest of you, see what you can put together."  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
A.N. I would really like some reviews. REALLY like reviews. 


	9. Doppelganger

A.N. I am glad I keep notes. Am I confusing everybody, or is it just me because I actually have to come up with a case and make it not too painfully obvious? Is that even a question? Anyway, This chapter is dedicated to a bunch of people I have never actually met, but who happened to be in the room while my editor and I were talking online. Steve, Andrew, this one's for you.  
  
By The Way. . . Doppelganger is probably one of my favourite words of all time. I just love it.  
  
On with the show!  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Whoever invented the cell phone was probably deaf. There is just no other explanation. How could a person with hearing invent something that sounded so unbelievably annoying? Catherine was grateful for her cell phone; it saved a lot of running around. But it was so annoying.  
  
"Willows." She said, answering the call. "thanks, we're on our way."  
  
Warrick and Sara looked up from the layout table. "They found the truck." Catherine said. "Someone noticed it on the side of the road and called highway patrol. We're going to process it."  
  
They collected their kits and headed out. The truck was a few miles out of Vegas, parked by the side of the road. Warrick immediately looked at the tires.  
  
"This is our truck." He reported. "the tires match the pictures perfectly."  
  
Sara opened the driver's door, and wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, something smells in here." She walked around to the back of the truck and saw a box. She opened it. "Pay dirt" she said, and reached in. Her gloved hand pulled out a gun.  
  
Catherine meanwhile had opened the passenger side door, and flipped the seat up to look in the back. "I found something." She said, shining her flashlight into the back. "Warrick, can you get me a bag please." Grimacing slightly, she reached in and picked up whatever it was she saw. Warrick held the bag open, and watched as Catherine gingerly put a severed hand into the evidence bag.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Grissom's pager went off just as he, Brass and Nick were leaving Jaden Sagget's house. Jaden had told him that his truck had been stolen. Grissom called Catherine, and hung up after a brief conversation.  
  
"They found the truck." He informed his companions. "There was a hand and a gun in it. Catherine just gave the gun to Bobby."  
  
The three of them arrived back at the lab and Grissom headed straight to ballistics. Bobby was just about to do the test firing when he arrived. Taking a pair of ear protectors, Grissom went to stand beside him. Booby fired into the tank, and then retrieved the bullet. The pair went to the microscope.  
  
"Striations match up." Booby announced, "It's the same gun. Have a look."  
  
Grissom looked, and concurred. His pager went off and he thanked Bobby and left.  
  
Sara was in print analysis, and turned around when Grissom came in.  
  
"I analyzed the prints on the gun." She said. "They match up to Andrew Sagget."  
  
"So, he shot himself in the back of the head." Grissom queried.  
  
Sara rolled her eyes "Yeah, then he threw himself in the pond, and died. Something's missing."  
  
Dr. Robbins stuck his head in the room. "Did you get my report?" he asked.  
  
"I was there for the autopsy" Grissom said.  
  
"You were there for the prelim. I found out that he was knocked out before he was skinned, and skinned before he was shot."  
  
Grissom sighed. "Thanks Al."  
  
Dr. Robbins laughed, and then became serious. "You remember the Barger case?" Grissom nodded, and Robbins continued "Remember how we got her finger prints?"  
  
Grissom tilted his head to the side, and his face had 'that Grissom look' written all over it. "Only one of his hands was flayed. The killer put the one with the print on it over the camera, and flayed the other to wear as a glove to shoot the vic."  
  
Sara was looking at the autopsy pictures. "Hey, Grissom, what does this guy look like with skin?"  
  
Absently, Grissom reached into the case file and pulled out a picture of the deceased. He handed it to Sara, and when she looked at it, her jaw dropped.  
  
"What?" he demanded.  
  
"That is Jaden Sagget."  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
A.N. Am I making any sense at all? Am I boring you to death? Am I doing OK? TELL ME PLEASE! 


	10. How Do You Take Your Eggs

A.N. It must be Wednesday. I had Hebrew today. It was something about constructs. I didn't pay much attention. I also failed a quiz. But I did write chapter ten. I wonder if that gets me any credit?  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
The table at the diner was crowded with the six of them sitting around it, but they always had breakfast at this table, and weren't about to confuse the waitress just for the sake of a few more centimetres each. The coffee and menus were delivered, and orders duly taken. Then, because the case was on their minds, the team began working on theories.  
  
"So Andrew and some other guy. . ." Warrick began.  
  
"Probably Jaden." Nick interjected  
  
"But we don't know that for sure." Said Sara reaching across him for the sugar.  
  
"Anyway, they get to the zoo and the killer knocks Andrew unconscious." Warrick continued.  
  
"Then, the vic's hand gets cut off and somehow ends up over the camera." Catherine took up the story, "and then Andrew is dragged into the exhibit and flayed."  
  
"Then he is shot," Warrick said, "and the killer runs off with a dead crocodile."  
  
"We're missing something" said Grissom.  
  
"That is painfully obvious." Replied Sara, somewhat sarcastically.  
  
Grissom reproving look was interrupted by the arrival of breakfast. There was a brief clamour for the salt, pepper and ketchup, and then everyone dug in.  
  
Greg mechanically put salt on his fried eggs, lost in thought. He was staring at Nick's plate. Just as Grissom was about to make sure that Greg hadn't gone catatonic on them, the young man's eyes widen as he realized something.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute," said Greg. "What if Andrew was at the zoo by himself. He breaks the window, and slits the croc's throat, without ever entering the exhibit. Then Jaden sneaks up behind him, and hits him on the head. Jaden cuts the hand off, throws it over the camera, drags Andrew's body into the exhibit, flays him and shoots him, and then dumps him in the pond. Then he wraps the croc in the Dacron and drags him to Andrew's truck."  
  
"Why would Jaden do that?" asked Catherine, just as Brass entered the diner  
  
"Jaden and Andrew Sagget are identical twins." Brass told them, "Andrew is wanted in Florida for poaching, and Jaden has been arrested several times for disturbing the peace and assault on a police officer while at Animal Rights protests."  
  
"The valuable parts of a crocodile are the skin and the feet." Sara said, her voice pale. "Jaden was making a statement."  
  
"I think it is time we ask Jaden to come in and talk to us." Said Brass. "I'll go see what I can do about getting him in." Brass left the diner.  
  
"So Jaden kills his brother because he was poaching." Warrick summarized, "What made you think of it Greg?"  
  
The lab tech smiled. "Nick's breakfast."  
  
Everyone looked at Nick's plate.  
  
"Poached eggs." Said Catherine. "Positively Grissomian."  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
A.N. I am really sorry. I have been waiting to use that for days. We're almost done. Thanks to my reviewers, and I hate to be greedy but MORE MORE MORE! 


	11. Under Glass

A.N. OK, one last hurrah. I would like to apologize for this story. I have learned a lot writing this, namely, don't make your case up as you go along. I started out with a dead crocodile, and ended up, well, here. I am sure that broke a few of the laws of physics. Anyway, thank you to Leanne my editor, Sarah my resident forensic scientist, everyone who reviewed, and the academy and, oh never mind. On with the show.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
They didn't design the room to be comfortable. While she knew there were reasons behind this, it didn't make her feel better. Catherine hated the tank. She knew it made the suspects uncomfortable, but did it have to make the investigators uncomfortable too? She and Grissom had just settled in when Brass brought Jaden Sagget into the room. Jaden was led to the chair that faces Grissom and Catherine, and Brass took up his customary position standing behind them.  
  
"Do you know what is interesting about identical twins?" Grissom asked by way of a greeting.  
  
Jaden glared at him, but said nothing.  
  
"Identical twins have the same DNA sequence." Catherine stated. "For all intents and purposes, they are genetically indistinguishable."  
  
Jaden's eyes left Grissom's face, and scanned the room. He looked past the one way window that separated him from Sara, Nick and Warrick, and then fixed his gaze back on Grissom. His sneer took up his entire face.  
  
"At the crime scene, we found DNA." Grissom said. "We know it belongs to you or your brother, but we don't know which."  
  
Jaden looked condescendingly at him. "It belonged to my brother. You found his body there."  
  
"That is what we assumed." Catherine said.  
  
"So, you have no way of placing me there." Jaden said. Catherine wondered idly how he could speak through the nasty grimace on his face. "and you can't hold me."  
  
He moved to get up, but Brass was ready for him. "Sit" he barked, and Jaden complied.  
  
"Identical twins do have a great deal in common." Said Grissom, his voice soft and calm, the tone that those who knew him recognized as his most dangerous. "Same DNA, often the same appearance, but they also have one major difference."  
  
Catherine threw the file she was holding on the table and removed two pictures. "This is Andrew's finger print. It was on the gun and on some of the glass fragments." She held up the other picture. "And this is your fingerprint. It was on the glass as well."  
  
"That means nothing." Jaden spat.  
  
"It means," Grissom said, his voice deadly quiet, "that we can place you at the scene of your brother's murder."  
  
"We know you go in for animal rights Jaden." Brass said, almost patronizingly, "And your brother is a poacher. Ironic how different twins can be, isn't it."  
  
"That gives us means, motive, and your finger prints place you at the scene." Catherine said.  
  
"Is there anything you'd like to tell us?" Grissom asked.  
  
Behind the glass, the three younger CSIs were joined by Greg. The four watched as they listened when Jaden started to talk.  
  
"I followed him to the zoo that night. I knew he was going because he took my truck. But I got there too late. He had already killed the crocodile." Jaden's voice was flat and monotone, a stark contrast from the heated tones he had spoken with moments before. "I guess I lost it. I hit him on the head, and then I realized that this was a perfect opportunity to make an example."  
  
Sara exhaled in disgust, and Nick put an understanding hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I cut off his hand while he was still out. He sort of twitched when I did it." Some of the fire began to return to Jaden's voice. "Then I put his hand over the camera. . ."  
  
"How?" Grissom broke in. Jaden smirked at him.  
  
"I threw it." Was the reply.  
  
"I guess that explains all the horseshoes trophies we found when we looked through his apartment." Warrick murmured.  
  
"After I knew I was hidden from the camera, I went into the exhibit and flayed him." Jaden continued. "You should have seen him squirm, he was just coming back to consciousness, and I knew I couldn't have him screaming, so I took the skin from his hand and put it over my own, and then shot him in the back of the head."  
  
"Then you took the crocodile to Lake Mead and dumped it." Catherine said.  
  
Jaden nodded. Brass signaled for the policeman who was outside the room to come in and instructed him to arrest Jaden Sagget for the murder of his brother.  
  
When Jaden had been led away, Catherine and Grissom exchanged a glance and then left the tank together to rejoin their team. The six of them made their way down to the hall to the break room. No one could really think of anything to say, and Grissom decided to send them home, since they were on overtime already. He congratulated them on a job well done, and they gratefully headed for the locker room.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Nick and Sara were the last to leave the locker room. They passed the lab and saw Greg through the windows. He was smiling broadly and talking to someone on his cell phone.  
  
"Must be Heidi." Sara said.  
  
"How do you know?" Nick queried.  
  
"Call it an educated guess." She replied, smiling.  
  
They were set to leave, when they heard music floating down the hallway from the direction of Grissom's office. The closer they got to the office, the louder the music was playing. Through the windows, they could see Grissom, sitting at his desk, working on a crossword puzzle, as the music blared around him.  
  
***But the biggest kick I ever got.  
  
Was doing a thing called the Crocodile Rock  
  
While the other kids were rocking round the clock  
  
We were hopping and bopping to the Crocodile Rock***  
  
Nick began to laugh, and Sara followed suit. Still laughing, they turned and walked down the hall towards the exit.  
  
"Come on, we've got a movie to watch." Sara said.  
  
"Do you think you can stay awake?" Nick asked, teasing.  
  
"Oh, I think you'd keep me up." Sara replied.  
  
Nick smiled.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
A.N. Crocodile Rock is by Elton John.  
  
Well, what did we all think? Should I do more (meaning another chapter story)? Tell me what you want, and I'll do my best. 


End file.
